As the liturgical season slowly winds down, approaching the darkest moments of the pandemic and amid the stressful elections, today is a time to take a deep breath and dig deeper into the parable of the ten maidens, an inspiring story that takes us into the end of times, the age of fulfillment, the last things, and the heavenly dimension of faith urging us to add a little into our prayer life, increase our level and degree of preparedness as demonstrated by the provisions of the five wise maidens.
This is not a wedding banquet. The scene starts off with the return of the bridegroom from the house of the bride’s father and take the bride from her father’s house into his own house for the celebration of begin. If you are part of a wedding entourage or one of the guests, there’s not much you can do, you will have to wait until the grand entrance of the bridegroom. It’s the couple’s moment, not yours. Central to the story was the role of the ten maidens to welcome the bride and the groom on the way into the household. We are told that the five maidens who didn’t bring extra flasks of oil were called foolish because of the lack of foresight that is, delay which was exactly what happened and were caught off by surprise. Both groups waited and feel asleep but the wise that is, those who took extra flasks of oil with them were benefited and were commended in anticipation of trouble as they welcomed the couple whose arrival came unexpectedly.
In the story, the bridegroom is Christ. The ten maidens represent us, the parish community all the while, in and out of season waiting for the second coming of Christ. The late arrival of the bride and the groom was the delay of the Parousia. And that the sudden arrival is the unexpected coming of the Parousia. At the very end, Jesus said, stay alert, stay awake, therefore, for you neither know the day nor the time of the Lord’s arrival. Watch constantly for you do not know when the day of the lord comes. The second coming of the Lord, the Parousia, is imminent but unpredictable, uncertain and unknown. The long- standing tradition of the second coming of the Lord has been delayed but it doesn’t mean we stop waiting. Patience is virtue. Waiting is a grace. Earthly life is a time of preparation for the unexpected arrival of the Lord. While actively waiting, let me turn you to the first reading from the book of wisdom which tells us, "Wisdom is perceived by those who love her and wisdom is found by those who seek her". For some, wisdom may seem unreachable, remote and reserved only to a special talented group but no, she is accessible and within reach. She will meet us halfway. She wants to be known. It is not a waste of time to spend time with her. She is worth seeking. She is available to anyone who relentlessly seeks her. Wisdom is splendid, radiant, visible and unfading. Whoever watches for her at dawn will not be disappointed. Anyone who purposely gets up and actually wakes up early in the morning to seek God first, and not the news of the day is an indication of deep faith. There is wisdom in the early hours of the morning that midday and evening can't provide. We dream of getting good grades, landing in a satisfying job, seeking better life, raising a God-fearing, decent family but over- all, our main goal, our major and utmost preoccupation is to search, chase and pursue the wisdom of God that is, Jesus Christ. In our quest for wisdom, God will never fail us. If we continue to spend our lives chasing wisdom, others will go after us.
Live as if everything you do is in preparation for the coming of the Lord. Live as if everything you do depends on him. Live as if all your decisions look forward to eternity. Let us imitate the wise maidens for bringing extra oil and keeping the flame. Is the flame, the wisdom of Christ still lit, still alive? Hope it is as we need it for the unexpected arrival. Amen.
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May God bless you abundantly!
Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger